Home with Katie: Design Tips for Upper-level Oriels

Join me on a tour of some upper-level oriels like the ones I describe in my Drawing Board column, “Taking Oriels to a New Level” in the September issue of Fine Homebuilding (#221). Think of an oriel as a window bay that doesn’t have a foundation. In this video, we’ll look at oriels that announce entryways, create stair landings and double as dormers, along with a bonus type. We’ll also meet other architects designing upper-level oriels, and hear from a builder about installing one, too.

Article Comments

I could tell from the outside of the buildings that most of the Oriels shown were to "fix" Architectural mistakes in design. As a Designer/drafter of 25 years that has to "clean up" Architect structural and design fubars, I run into this a lot. It's really funny how you see things like this turned into a feature in a design. I like to call them Inspirational Design Modifications. You are "inspired" to do something to fix it so that the home owner thinks they really wanted something like this instead of what they asked for.